Who’s Doing Good?

23 July 2018 - 29 July 2018

THE GIVERS

SK chief donates US$10 million to help Laos disaster recovery. Chairman of SK Group, Chey Tae-won, made the donation pledge in a meeting with the Laotian ambassador in Seoul, offering his condolences to victims of the flooding from the dam construction site. With two Korean companies being involved in the construction project, both companies and the Korean government have offered to provide aid in cash and in physical materials.

THE THINKERS

“Help nonprofits to build long-term capacity,” says Shahira Ahmed Bazari.Writing in the New Straits Times, Bazari, managing director of Yayasan Hasanah, a Malaysian foundation, urges for a change in the way that nonprofits are perceived: to recognize that they are professional organizations that require the same kinds of financial resources and support as other organizations. “If nonprofits do not have to worry about covering basic costs and salaries regularly, they can place more focus and resources on driving real change and delivering a social impact,” she writes.

The Straits Times answers questions about crowdfunding in Singapore.Instead of viewing it as a threat, it argues that crowdfunding should be viewed as an opportunity. On the island city-state, crowdfunding is regulated by the Commissioner of Charities in conjunction with the sector’s major players: crowdfunding sites bear responsibility for assessing the legitimacy of funding appeals while taking in a near-negligible fee for their services. Thanks to its lower cost, as well as potential to help organizations reach new audiences, crowdfunding could become an invaluable tool for small charities.

Responding to the Rohingya crisis, foreign donations to Bangladesh rise nearly 16%. Over US$820 million in funds are expected to go to the 1,625 projects approved by the NGO Affairs Bureau, the highest number approved by the bureau in a single year. This comes as donations to NGOs have waned in recent years, as the government has taken punitive measures against some for regulatory non-compliance. Another US$50 million is expected to be committed by donors in the coming year.

Foodbank Vietnam helps distribute food to those in need. Foodbank Vietnam, a government-sponsored Vietnam Red Cross charity, debuted earlier this year with a pledge to reduce poverty, raise social awareness about saving food, and boost connections and coordination between food suppliers and resource centers. “More than 5,000 meals are provided each month to 10 places sheltering the homeless, many of them children. We have gradually collected the food from five suppliers in Ho Chi Minh City,” said the founder Nguyễn Tuấn Khởi.

THE BUSINESSES

PepsiCo donates US$1 million to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.Along with the financial donation, the multinational corporation is also donating its new Quaker Kids Nutrition products to assist with hunger alleviation efforts in Southwest China. Many counties in the targeted provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou are among the poorest in the country. The grant will provide over 1.7 million meals benefiting approximately 10,000 students over the next three years.

THE INNOVATORS

The Korea Herald interviews the president of Hanyang University, where social innovation is “in their DNA.” At Hanyang, students are required to complete 32 hours of community service in order to graduate. The university is the first in East Asia to be designated an Ashoka U Changemaker Campus. “Trying to find ways to help others and contribute to the society, that is the mindset we seek to deliver to our students,” says Lee Young-moo, the university’s president. Going forward, it hopes to publish a Korean version of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the preeminent publication on social innovation from the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society.

Social services sector aims to strengthen service delivery with two new digital initiatives. The IT system to improve backend processes, iShine Cloud provides a suite of integrated IT cloud services specific to the charitable sector. The system is jointly developed by the National Council of Social Service and Singapore Pools. The system will consist of tools that will help social service professionals attend to their clients without being stalled by administrative tasks. The second is a social service navigator, an interactive online platform and mobile portal that consolidates information on social service providers, programs, and resources all over Singapore. The platform aims to significantly reduce the time social service professionals spend searching for a suitable program to better address the needs of their clients.

THE VOLUNTEERS

Children take on a bike tour of Taiwan to help the elderly. Fifteen children participating in the “2018 Love and Hope in Taiwan – Bicyclists Charity” event have set out on a bicycle challenge in Taichung, including stops in Kaohsiung and New Taipei, to help and support the elderly in those communities. The children come from disadvantaged families. They will perform dances and give the elderly massages on the way.

THE TRUSTBREAKERS

Charity founder confesses to sexual assault in WeChat post. Lei Chuang, the founder of the Yi You Charity and a high-profile philanthropic figure in China, has admitted to sexually assaulting a woman. Lei, a respected personality in China’s charity circle, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2015 in an anonymous article posted online.

Hong Kong family donates rare Chinese artworks to Hong Kong museum to promote traditional culture. Chih Lo Lou Art Promotion, an organization by late philanthropist Ho Iu- kwong and now run by his family, has donated over 350 Chinese paintings and calligraphy works to the Hong Kong Museum of Art. The donated collection will be permanently displayed in a dedicated gallery named the “Chih Lo Lou Gallery of Chinese Painting & Calligraphy” after the museum finishes its renovation and reopens in 2019.

Indian Americans are donating US$1 billion a year, a new survey has found. They are among the ethnic groups with the highest per capita incomes in the United States and volunteer at nearly double the national average at 220 hours per year, according to the Indiaspora-Dalberg Community Engagement Survey. Still, researchers have found that the potential for giving by the community is vast, at more than US$3 billion annually. “We hope that the results of this study [can] help galvanize philanthropic efforts among this important—and influential—community,” says Joe Dougherty, Dalberg Advisors’ regional director for the Americas.

Fill the nonprofit skill gap with corporate know-how, write Ratan Tata and Ruth Shapiro. Examining India’s CSR legislation four years after its implementation, Tata, chairman of the Tata Trusts, and Shapiro, chief executive of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society, discuss promising signs that the law has led to an uptick in CSR spending. A significant number of companies are spending more than the minimum required two percent on CSR, and projects are becoming more strategic and widespread. Still, nonprofits’ knowledge gaps remain an issue, with many lacking skills such as financial planning, accounting, and impact measurement. “We suggest that the ministry of corporate affairs incentivise companies to encourage employees to provide technical assistance as a volunteer or a board member, for those nonprofits also receiving grant support.”

When it comes to resolving today’s challenges, family philanthropy will become even more crucial, says Peter Vogel.In an opinion editorial for Forbes India, Vogel, Professor of Family Business and Entrepreneurship at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), writes that as well-off baby boomers prepare to pass on their wealth to a younger generation of more socially conscious individuals, an “astonishing number of next-generation philanthropists” are set to emerge. “While it is true that there is a growing gap between rich and poor,” he writes, “…there is a growing breed of self-made wealth owners and inheritors who are cognizant of their disproportionate amount of wealth and who have committed to contribute a majority of their wealth to philanthropy.”

“Do social enterprises work?” Hannah Jun, Ph.D., director of the Center for Global Social Responsibility at Ewha’s Graduate School of International Studies, shares her thoughts on the rising social enterprise scene in Korea. Most notably, the author identifies gaps from her insider’s knowledge of the sector, for example, that university curricula’s focus on long-term sustainability does not match well with the reality of focusing on short-term gains and returns.

THE NONPROFITS

Singaporean bone marrow nonprofit renews charitable status and names a new chief. Following a special audit in 2016 that uncovered governance and administrative lapses such as “excessive” use fo donations on marketing and entertainment, the Bone Marrow Donor Programme (BMDP) has obtained a one-year renewal of its Institutions of a Public Character (IPC) status, which is the official legal charitable status in Singapore. The BMDP also announced the appointment of its new chief Charles Loh, who was previously a senior vice president at Certis Cisco from 2006 to 2016. In regards to the BMDP, a Ministry of Health (MOH) spokesman said, “BMDP has been taking steps to improve its administration and governance. MOH continues to monitor their government and administration.”

Top talent from the world’s universities is going to work for the Tata Trusts.The philanthropic arm of India’s Tata Group, the Tata Trusts are aggressively hiring from top higher education institutions around the world, from The Indian Institute of Technology to Harvard University. “We are enhancing both our functional competencies and general management bandwidth,” says Debasis Ray, spokesperson for the Tata Trusts. With their added manpower, the Tata Trusts hopes to enhance its work in seven portfolio areas, including, but not limited to, health, water, energy, rural uplift, and urban poverty alleviation.

THE BUSINESSES

SK Innovation begins mangrove donation drive in Vietnam.SK Innovation, the battery-making subsidiary of SK Group, is holding a donation campaign to restore a mangrove forest in Vietnam. This campaign is in line with the memorandum of understanding that SK signed with the Vietnamese government and the United Nations Environment Programme. According to the company, over 3,000 people have contributed, donating roughly 5,000 saplings of mangrove trees in just eight days. The campaign will close once it reaches a total of 10,000 trees.

A step towards transparency in philanthropy: The Giving Bank. The Giving Bank is a platform that combines crowdfunding and philanthropy. Since its conception 18 months ago, it has so far completed 45 projects and raised nearly US$123,000. “I have been giving from the time I drew my first salary. But at one point, I felt tired and troubled with giving and not knowing how the funds were used. So, I came up with this idea,” says founder Jason Ang. The system is built to send out reports on how the funds are used automatically to all donors. The Giving Bank itself follows a transparent fee structure on gross donations and has its own ecosystem. The dream, he says, is to be able to donate with a click or swipe.

THE VOLUNTEERS

Chinese volunteer recalls long, lonely fight to protect the forest. Volunteer Liu Zhenmao has protected a mountain forest in Hunan province for the past 38 years, spending 22 Chinese New Year Eves at his sentry post. In 2016, the local government offered financial support and reformed a team of volunteers that was disbanded 23 years earlier. In a letter to Chenzhou’s vice mayor last month, Liu wrote, “I want the Chenzhou government to further control grazing near Shizikou Mountain in order to protect the forests and grasslands and prevent soil erosion.”

Amid public scandal involving Asiana Airlines, Korean corporate foundations come under public scrutiny.In the aftermath of Asiana Airlines’ in-flight meal scandal, much media spotlight and public attention have been directed toward chairman Park Sam-Koo of Kumho Asiana Group. In particular, how Park has utilized the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation and its funds for the corporate takeover infighting with his brother has led to calls for more scrutiny into Korean conglomerates’ use of private foundations. Other examples noted by the media outlet include Samsung and Hyundai, who have both used foundations for the purpose of corporate succession planning and evasion of fair trade and business regulations.

Bloomberg Philanthropies donates US$2.4 million to prevent drowning deaths in Vietnam. Bloomberg Philanthropies has donated US$2.4 million to fund the first two years of a five-year program to prevent drowning deaths among children in Vietnam. The program will hold swimming lessons for children in eight drowning-prone provinces, with a particular on those below five years of age. The donation was announced at a seminar held in Hanoi on June 26, 2018.

Half of Singaporean firms practice corporate giving, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) finds. According to its recently released Corporate Giving Survey 2017, about half of the 707 firms surveyed engage in corporate giving. Nearly two-thirds of them have integrated the giving process into their core operations. With the overwhelming majority of giving coming from philanthropy (90%), NVPC encouraged companies to engage in other forms of giving: “beyond cash donations, there (are) a lot of different ways companies can give, and a lot of times we miss the obvious ways–the giving of skills, services or products that companies can provide to communities in need.”

THE NONPROFITS

Charity’s food donation platform serves 2.6 million meals. Food-Co, an online platform run by the charity St. James Settlement and funded by the Hong Kong government’s Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund, has helped distribute about 200 tons of food to thousands of needy people in Hong Kong over the past year. The platform connects the food industry, both restaurants and companies, with charities that help channel surplus food to those in need.

THE BUSINESSES

The Business Times interviews Singaporean impact investor Declan Ee. The partner and founding investor of TLG Capital, Ee was an early advocate of socially responsible investing at a time when others in Asia were still skeptical of its effectiveness. One of TLG’s first investments was in a medical manufacturing plant in Uganda, which produces affordable anti-retroviral drugs that help treat HIV. With access to generic drugs, HIV patients in Africa “can now have a normal life because the anti-retroviral treatment is so effective. The average lifespan of someone who is on it could be 60-80 years.”

THE INNOVATORS

Technology to help modernize donation marketplace in the Philippines. The founders of Charity Byes and Albert, two mobile applications that focus on creating an online donation marketplace between those who have (such as companies) and those who are in need (such as nonprofits), were inspired by the need to forward excess company resources like food, which would otherwise be wasted, to the causes that most need them.

THE VOLUNTEERS

A Singaporean pair raises over US$42,000 USD for migrant workers in need. Shirin Chua and Ameera Begum started a crowdfunding campaign to raise US$7,300 for Muslim migrant workers in Singapore and were surprised to find that the campaign generated vastly more money than they had expected. Funds raised will go to the Transient Workers Count Too’s meal program, which feeds up to 800 destitute workers every month.

THE TRUSTBREAKERS

Nonprofits in Malaysia call for regulations on political donations and gifts. The acting chairman of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (better known as BERSIH) stressed the importance of transparency in the political donations process. “Any donation received cannot go into a personal account, and there must be documentation or receipts for all contributions.” The calls for greater oversight over donations comes as Malaysia’s new Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, imposed a no-gif tpolicy for cabinet officials: gifts from now on should only be limited to flowers, food, and fruits.

Who’s Doing Good?

18 June 2018 - 24 June 2018

THE GIVERS

Malaysia finance minister defends collecting public donations to help settle national debt. Amidst a public movement among companies and individuals to donate to the state, Minister Lim Guan Eng has defended this collection of public donations through the “Fund of Hope,” which he said will go towards settling the nation’s debt. The fund was created after Malaysians started crowdsourcing donations themselves. As of June 21, 2018, the fund had reached more than RM90 million in contributions.

THE THINKERS

Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society presents the Doing Good Index in Singapore. CAPS visited Singapore to present the Doing Good Index to nonprofit and foundation professionals, CSR executives, academics, journalists, and philanthropists in the country. In particular, CAPS highlighted the challenge in recruiting high-quality talent into the sector. 94% of organizations surveyed agreed that there was a public perception that nonprofit employees should earn less than their private sector counterparts, while 84% indicated that they had difficulty recruiting skilled staff. The below cartoon by the India Development Review well represents this talent dilemma and challenge faced by many nonprofits.

Source: India Development Review

The Asian Venture Philanthropy Network hosted its annual conference in Singapore. Investors seem to agree that there remains a persistent early-stage capital gap problem, leading to insufficient support for early-stage social enterprises. Other challenges include a need for more expertise on business building, more persistence on developing standardized impact measurements, and a reframing of sector’s approach to gender equality.

Hong Kong is underestimating its altruism, according to a recent poll by The University of Hong Kong. While scoring just above average in The University of Hong Kong’s altruism poll, the study nonetheless found that 83.5% of respondents had donated money to charity, while nearly half said that they did volunteer work. Paul Yip Siu-far, the poll’s research director, says that while Hongkongers are doing more than they think, there is still room to do more: “The government should do more to encourage people to donate blood, such as extending the hours of blood donation services since most people work from nine to six.”

THE NONPROFITS

Nonprofit brings aid and hope to Penan settlements. Hope Place, a Malaysian nonprofit, has been providing the Penan community in Ulu Baram with health checks, haircuts, and solar panels. After conducting a survey to identify the needs of the people, Hope Place realized that the villagers needed more than just food supplies. Hence, Hope Place has gathered a team of volunteers to provide services such as health checks, haircuts, and installing solar panels.

THE BUSINESSES

Vietnamese companies begin to embrace the environment and community. The article aptly summarizes an increasing trend among Vietnamese companies to embrace environmental protection and community contributions. For example, Traphaco, a leading Vietnamese pharmaceutical company, devised a sustainable development strategy to attach its business growth to environmental protection and CSR. A notable project by Traphaco includes the “Green Plan” whose goal is to produce materials made from herbs, as well as helping local farmers eradicate hunger and reduce poverty. With this emphasis on sustainable business practices, Traphaco is now spending approximately 1-3% of its total revenue on CSR. The article cites many other noteworthy examples from the private sector.

THE INNOVATORS

“From Malaysia to Myanmar, social ventures build homes and safe spaces.” Touching upon the rise of social enterprises in Asia, the Thomson Reuters Foundation highlights two social ventures in Malaysia and Myanmar. While Epic Homes builds houses for mainland Malaysia’s indigenous Orang Asli people, Myanmar’s Doh Eain is helping residents conserve older homes, as well as open up public spaces for women and girls.

A new startup is bringing financial inclusion to unbanked Filipinos. TraXion, a Filipino blockchain enterprise, is aiming to provide savings accounts and payment and remittance services to the 82.6% of the country’s population that is currently unbanked or underbanked. By providing a low-cost and user-friendly service to its clients, the platform wants to succeed where traditional financial institutions have thus far failed. TraXion’s public initial coin offering will begin running this August.

Social delivery organizations in Singapore need to build up public trust. Presenting the DGI to the Singaporean audience, CAPS spoke of the “trust deficit” that plagues the nonprofit sector. 94% of organizations surveyed in the DGI indicated that there was a public perception that nonprofit employees should earn less, while 60% also felt that the level of individual giving was low. “People don’t want to give because they don’t trust the organizations to use their money,” said Ruth Shapiro, Chief Executive of CAPS.

How Can Asia Boost Philanthropy?

AsiaGlobal Online

Wealth in Asia is growing rapidly, but philanthropy has not kept pace. Governments should improve regulation and change tax and fiscal policies to make it easier for Asians and corporations to give in a systematic way. They should also ensure donations can efficiently reach organizations working to meet society’s needs.

This article looks at how the Doing Good Index can help governments improve regulations and policies relevant to the philanthropic and charitable sectors by identifying the levers that best enhance local philanthropy across 15 Asian economies.

Who’s Doing Good?

23 April 2018 - 29 April 2018

THE GIVERS

China’s tech billionaires make major donations to domestic universities. As President Xi Jinping urged businesses to step up innovation, CEOs of Baidu and JD.com and their spouses pledged hundreds of millions to Peking University and Tsinghua University. Baidu’s Robin Li Yanhong, his wife Melissa Ma, and the company jointly donated 660 million yuan (US$104 million) to Peking University, supporting cutting-edge research into areas that complement the company’s artificial intelligence technologies. Similarly, JD.com’s Richard Liu Qiangdong and his wife Zhang Zetian gave 200 million yuan (approximately US$31.6 million) to Tsinghua University for research into artificial intelligence, logistics, and other fields.

THE THINKERS

Singaporean government sets new guidelines for healthier food donations. Donating food products is one popular form of individual giving. In line with this trend, the Singaporean government’s Health Promotion Board has released its first set of guidelines for charities, voluntary welfare organizations, and individual donors to choose healthier products when making food donations for low-income families. Recommendations include having at least one item from each of the five main food groups (staples, oils, meat and alternatives, diary and alternatives, and fruit and vegetables) in each donation pack.

THE NONPROFITS

Malaysian charity wins award for refugee support. In recognition of its contributions to approximately 1,100 refugees, stateless people, undocumented students, and other marginalized groups in Kuala Lumpur, the Dignity for Children Foundation was awarded the second edition of the Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support (SIARA), which was established by The Big Heart Foundation in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. As part of the award, the charity received US$136,000, also receiving a personal donation of US$1 million from Sharjah’s Dr. Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi.

Vietnam Red Cross Society launches Humanitarian Month. On April 28, 2018, the Vietnam Red Cross Society and its Hanoi chapter launched the Humanitarian Month to promote good deeds among the public and enhance authorities’ sense of responsibility towards humanitarian activities.

THE BUSINESSES

Multinational pharmaceutical companies donate ₩25.9 billion (US$24 million) in South Korea last year. According to the Korea Research-based Pharma Industry Association, a total of 26 multinational drug companies donated a combined ₩25.9 billion (US$24 million) in South Korea last year. The 2017 amount accounts for 0.48% of their total revenues and represents a five percent increase from the previous year. The calculated amount includes money donated to various charities, as well as goods and merchandise used during CSR activities.

THE INNOVATORS

Korean steelmaker builds sustainable steel housing. Posco, a major steelmaker in Korea, is using its business expertise to provide sustainable steel homes, playgrounds, and bridges in Vung Tau, Vietnam. This “Steel Village” program has been selected by the United Nations as a leading best practice model for the Sustainable Development Goals.

THE VOLUNTEERS

Meet the Chinese charity worker helping children in Syria. Through his small nonprofit organization called LoveZone Charity Foundation based in Suzhou, China, Zhuang Zhi supplies prosthetic limbs to children in Syria. Zhuang first thought access to education for Syrian children was an important area for him to work in, but after consulting the Syrian ambassador in China and his wife, he shifted his focus to providing mobility to disabled children. As a first step, Zhuang and his organization sent about 300,000 yuan (US$47,300) in donations and visited Damascus in last August. Zhuang now has an ambitious goal of building a factory that could make artificial limbs for about 3,000 children a year.

THE TRUSTBREAKERS

Singapore Commissioner of Charities finds “severe mismanagement” at Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple. The Commission of Charities (COC) found instances of “severe mismanagement” at the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple at Serangoon Road, one of Singapore’s oldest Hindu temples. In particular, suspected offenses pertained to mismanagement of the religious charity’s funds and assets. For example, key officers had “prevalently issued uncrossed cheques and allowed uncrossed cheques to be exchanged for cash in the Charity’s premises.”

Philanthropy in Asia needs a push from good government policies

South China Morning Post

Ruth A. Shapiro says that governments in the region must send strong signals that they value philanthropy through tax incentives and other policies. This could encourage a more systematic approach to giving and spark innovation in the social sector.

The Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society has just released its inaugural Doing Good Index, which looks at the factors that both enable and hinder philanthropy and other kinds of private social investment in Asia. We found that Asia has enormous potential to do good. If Asia were to donate the equivalent of 2 percent of its GDP, the same as the United States, it would unleash US$507 billion (HK$3.9 trillion) annually. This is more than 11 times the foreign aid flowing into the region every year and one-third of the annual amount needed globally to meet the sustainable development goals by 2030.

We did this study after understanding several important dichotomies affecting Asia and its social sector. First, there is enormous wealth being created in Asia but still incredible and at times tragic need. Second, while there is a long history of charity in Asia, philanthropy, or the systematic approach to doing good, is relatively new. Third, while many on the ground are carrying out extraordinary efforts to help relieve suffering and need, there is often a debilitating lack of trust towards the sector. Last, many Asian governments realize that philanthropy is growing and are reacting by crafting new policies and regulations that both encourage and control its flow.

The Doing Good Index is an ambitious initiative. Supported by donors in Asia, the team worked with 34 partners from 15 economies to survey 1,516 social delivery organizations and 80 experts. They answered questions about a range of factors that influence philanthropic capital. The questions fell into four categories – regulations, tax and fiscal policies, procurement and ecosystem. The first three are government-driven, while ecosystem looks at the role that people, communities, companies and universities are playing in addressing social challenges and nurturing the social sector.

We find that people are ahead of government: on average, Asian economies perform better in the ecosystem category than in the other three. Society is rewarding philanthropists and organizations in the social sector. Public recognition and awards are becoming more prevalent in most economies we studied. Many are volunteering both through their companies and on their own, people are serving on boards, and universities are offering classes in philanthropy and non-profit management.

Our study also shows that the right policies and incentives do matter. Tax subsidies contribute a great deal towards the propensity to give across income levels and have an important signaling effect. Asian philanthropists are pragmatic. People want to help their communities but also want to do this in ways that are aligned with their own government’s goals. When a government signals that philanthropy is appreciated, it has a positive influence on giving.

The right policies can address the trust deficit and mitigate the deleterious effect on philanthropy. Many social delivery organizations in Asia are endeavoring to become more transparent and accountable. In our study, 75 percent of those surveyed have a website and 86 percent have a board of trustees with nearly all reporting regular board meetings. Organisations in 13 of 15 economies are required to submit an annual report. The right regulations create a culture of accountability and facilitate the ability of organizations to report.

However, regulations need to be calibrated to reduce friction in the social sector and facilitate its growth. In some economies, organizations need to work with many government agencies, with one country having 15 different ministries all with different reporting requirements. This puts a burden on non-profit organizations and encourages underreporting.

Last, the social sector is vastly understudied. There is very little reliable data. For the Doing Good Index, we had to create the data from scratch. More information about philanthropy can help address the trust deficit and showcase which practices, models and policies are best in class. There is no dearth of humanity, creativity and commitment in Asia.

The key is to put systems and practices in place that allow us to learn from each other, contribute to our communities and help Asia become a global philanthropic leader and a center for social innovation.

Ruth A. Shapiro is the founder and chief executive of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Right policies can boost Asian philanthropy.

Doing Good Index 2018

Maximizing Asia's Potential

The inaugural Doing Good Index examines the enabling environment for philanthropy and private social investment across 15 Asian economies. Composed of four areas–tax and fiscal policy, regulatory regimes, socio-cultural ecosystem, and government procurement–the Index reveals how Asian economies are catalyzing philanthropic giving.

If the right regulatory and tax policies were in place, Asian philanthropists could give over US$500 billion, contributing to the US$1.4 trillion annual price tag needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Index serves as a unique and useful body of data for Asian governments, as well as for nonprofits, foundations and charities in Asia, to learn from each other. At a time when the policy is evolving, the social sector is growing, and interest in philanthropy is rapidly developing, the DGI shows the potential for Asia to leapfrog and become a leader in social innovation.*

*The latest version as of 19 January 2018 is available for download now.

*Please note that for Korea the 10% rate of the tax deduction for corporate donations refers to the limit on corporate income eligible for deduction. The rate of tax deductions for corporate donations in Korea is 100%, with a 10% limit. This change has no effect on the results of the index. For further information, please contact us.

Civil Society Briefs

Asian Development Bank

Introduction: Civil society is a very important stakeholder in the operations of the Asian Development Bank and its borrowers and clients. It is distinct from the government and private sector and consists of a diverse range of individuals, groups, and nonprofit organizations. They operate around shared interests, purposes, and values with a varying degree of formality and encompass a diverse range—from informal unorganized community groups to large international labor union organizations. These Briefs provide an overview of civil society organizations (CSOs), with a particular focus on nongovernment organizations (NGOs). These Briefs were first published by the Asian Development Bank (www.adb.org).

In this report, the Research Center of Management and Sustainable Development exemplifies the capacity and practice of Vietnamese Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in domains of transparency and accountability. With the data collected by the Center’s fieldwork assessments, the strengths and weaknesses of Vietnamese CSOs are analyzed, capacity among CSOs are compared, and recommendations are made to further inculcate the transparency and accountability culture among Vietnamese CSOs.